Souls Entwined
by BeethovenFA03
Summary: Seventh year brings plenty of challenges for Lily Evans and James Potter. Not least of all: Head Badges; the realization that things are changing, both inside and outside of Hogwarts; and that perhaps they have a chance for something ... greater. JPLE
1. Cacophony

Disclaimer: I am not the wonderful JK Rowling. If I was, I wouldn't go to work everyday.

The raucous sounds that reached Lily Evans' ears as she stepped on to Platform 9 ¾ were absolutely some of the most beautiful that she could remember hearing. The rush of students and parents bustling trunks and saying goodbyes was like a great masterpiece, with colors of orange, red, blue, yellow and green filling her worldview and making her break into a small smile. She looked over the sea of laughing and bobbing children and took a moment to enjoy the sight.

She was startled out of her contemplation when she was almost run over by a trunk on a trolley and the small child driving said trolley. She chuckled to herself as she looked at the child's penitent, worried face. She crouched down next to the tiny girl, who must have been a first year, and smiled gently at her.

"Well hello there, love. You have fabulous trolley-stopping skills. Sorry I was in your way." The girl tentatively smiled back and giggled a bit.

"Sorry. A lady out there told me I should run. I didn't expect anyone else to be on the other side." The girl flushed and looked around for the first time, her eyes widening in astonishment.

Lily glanced at the crowd again, remembering what it was like her first year, overwhelmed by the crowded platform. "Oh dear, that was my fault I suppose. I got a bit nostalgic, I'm afraid. Are you the first witch in your family?"

The girl turned back to her, astonished, and nodded energetically. "I am! My parents didn't believe it when we received my letter. I'm a bit nervous, honestly. How did you know?"

"Well, you see…?"

"Claire. Claire Fraiser."

"Nice to meet you, Claire. You see, most of the wizarding families come here together, because they already know how to get onto the platform. There's no need to be nervous, though. There are plenty of wizards and witches here from Muggle families. I'm the first witch in my family myself." Lily gestured to herself and went to stand, grabbing her own trolley and leading Claire towards the train.

Claire's eyes widened once again as she followed the tall auburn-haired girl. "Really? Oh, wow. Maybe this won't be so hard."

Lily turned back to her once they reached the train. "Really. And I'll even tell you a secret." She tiptoed closer to Claire and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "I'm Head Girl this year. Just because your family can't do magic, doesn't mean you won't be brilliant at it." She flicked Claire's nose and giggled. "Now, go meet some new people, make some friends, and I'll see you at school."

Claire beamed up at Lily, nodding her head and thanking her for escorting her to the train. Lily playfully shooed her towards the train and looked around at the slowly emptying platform. She had been one of the last ones to arrive, and was now one of the last ones to board. She used her wand to levitate her trunk, and moved to the front of the train, her trunk following behind her.

A number of students smiled and waved at her as she went along, and she made sure to ask how everyone was doing and if their holidays were as good as they'd hoped. Once she'd made it to the Prefect's compartment, she opened the door and moved into the room. Lily motioned her trunk to the corner and dropped onto the couch by the window, reveling in the luxurious feel of the upholstery.

All of the other Prefects (and the Head Boy, she supposed) were sitting with their friends for the beginning of the ride, but she had decided to just go to the Prefects compartment to collect her thoughts on the ride up. It wasn't that she didn't want to see her friends, but she knew Alice and Marlene would be gossiping about everyone who had gotten together and broken up over the holidays, and she wasn't particularly interested. She'd catch up with them once she got to the castle for the Welcoming Feast.

Lily Evans had determined over the summer that she was going to be the best Head Girl that Hogwarts had ever seen. She'd show every Pureblooded bigot that Muggleborns like Claire and herself were not worthless or below them, but that they were capable of greatness. And she wouldn't let anything deter her.

Which is, of course, when she looked up to realize that James Potter was standing in the doorway of the compartment.

James was still chuckling to himself as he walked down the hall to the Prefect's compartment. Sirius had tackled Remus to the ground in order to grab a piece of his chocolate, which had elicited a loud squeak from Peter and a five minute wrestling match on the floor of the Marauder's compartment. At least some things never changed.

Unlike his life: he still couldn't quite believe that Professor Dumbledore had made him Head Boy. Yes, he'd really worked on his studies last year and Gryffindor had won the Quidditch Cup under his Captainship, but he'd never been a Prefect before or really thought of himself as Head Boy material. In general, he'd been a god-awful prat the previous two years, chasing after Lily Evans, pranking random students, showing off at all times, and attempting to set a detention record with Sirius.

He supposed that not all of that had turned out badly, as chasing after Lily Evans had provoked him into not pranking random students, showing off and spending his whole life in detention. And apparently, led him to this walk to the Prefect's compartment. So he might have Lily Evans to thank for his Head Boy position, as her wonderful speech about dating the giant squid rather than him had inspired his attitude adjustment.

Life was really strange sometimes.

Like how when he opened the door to the compartment, he was greeted with the sight of Lily Evans gazing out the window to the countryside, her red locks shining in the sunlight, porcelain skin contrasting beautifully and stealing his breath away. When she turned to look at him, her emerald eyes held him entranced and he stared a bit longer than really necessary.

"Potter?"

James started a bit, and scratched the back of his head while attempting to look like he hadn't just been staring at her. "Hey, Evans." He sighed and dropped his hand.

She looked very confused, and for a fleeting second, he was amused by her countenance. "Umm… Potter? What are you doing here?"

He went to respond and realized that he hadn't put his badge on yet. He held up a finger, murmured, "Hold that thought," and searched his pockets for the shiny metal object. He heard a tapping sound and realized that Lily was still waiting for an explanation. James finally found the badge in his back pocket after looking everywhere and sheepishly apologized to her as he withdrew it.

"Sorry about that." He pinned the badge on his shirt. "I'm… well, I don't quite know how to say this without sounding like an egotistical prat, but I'm-"

"Head Boy!" Lily had jumped off the couch and stalked towards him in order to examine his badge more closely. As she peered at his badge, he sucked in a breath at her proximity. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to help him, as he just got a whiff of her perfume, which undermined the whole concept of pretending she wasn't there.

"So… Head Boy? You really didn't just steal this from Remus to give me a heart attack?" Lily crossed her arms over her chest and looked skeptically at him. One delicate eyebrow arched at him as the silence stretched again.

He forced a chuckle and looked at his shoes, scuffing them against the floor in embarrassment, hands in his pockets. "Yeah. Head Boy. I'm not quite sure what Professor Dumbledore was thinking, since I've never even been a Prefect, but he _is_ Albus Dumbledore, so I suppose I can't question him too much." He looked up to gauge her reaction and was pleasantly surprised to see that she hadn't rejected his assertion outright or drawn her wand to throw him out of the compartment with a well-placed hex.

He watched her digest the information and the gears obviously turning in her brilliant mind. He thought it was a good sign that she hadn't yelled at him (or in general) and they even seemed to be having a civil—if forced—conversation. She appeared to make a decision and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Alright, Potter. If you're willing to work at Head Boy, then I'm willing to give you the benefit of a doubt. But if you don't take it seriously and leave me stuck with all the work, I swear I'll hex you into next century." She jabbed her finger towards him for emphasis, and he backed up a step or two. He opened his mouth to answer and once again stopped short.

She was willing to give him a chance? This was certainly a new development. He briefly wondered what had inspired her to trust him before turning back to the situation at hand. Maybe this just might be easier than expected. James's expression slowly grew into a grin as he rocked back and forth on his feet. "Evans, I'll be the best Head Boy you could ask for."

She shook her head in disbelief and sighed as she turned back to her former position on the couch. "Come on, Potter. You've got a lot to learn before the Prefect's meeting."

James swallowed nervously. Or maybe this just might be more difficult than he had expected.

A/N- Claire Fraiser's name is totally and undeniably stolen from Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series (Sorry, Diana!). Otherwise, the character has nothing to do with anything. This is the first L/J fic I've actually plotted out and managed to like, so this will hopefully continue on for a while. If you'd like to review, I'd certainly appreciate it!


	2. Incongruity

Chapter 2:

I make absolutely no money off of this endeavor, and wish JK Rowling all the best.

Chapter 2: Incongruity

To say that Lily was shocked was perhaps the understatement of the decade. James Potter—arrogant bullying toe-rag extraordinaire—had actually paid attention to her when she explained what they would be doing in the Prefect's meeting. And not only that, but appeared to be taking his Head duties seriously, as well!

He had assured the Prefects that while he had been one of the biggest troublemakers in the past, he would be taking his role seriously. He had supported her position on patrolling and helped distribute passwords. He backed her up when she pointed out that there was to be no favoritism or antagonism shown to any house. He even gave a short speech on how important Prefects were to the running of the school, and that the responsibilities were not to be taken lightly. In fact, if she was honest with herself, he had made a perfect first impression with the Prefects and with her. Who was this boy and what had he done with James Potter?

"Evans!"

Lily turned to face James where he was standing behind her—apparently he had called her name a few times while she was lost in thought—to see him run his fingers through his already-messy hair. Perhaps there was still something of the boy that she had disliked in him. She had always despised that maneuver, as it seemed he was trying to impress her when he did it. Although, he didn't appear to realize he had done it this time.

"Yes, Potter?" She calmly replied, choosing to ignore his hair ruffling for the moment for the sake of civility.

He looked confused for a moment, as if he had expected some other response entirely. He worked his mouth a bit, trying to remember why he'd called her name to begin with. "Oh… um, well… I was just… Right. " He shut his mouth with an audible clack, and stood with his hands in his pockets, attempting in vain to look like he hadn't said anything to begin with.

And suddenly, Lily couldn't help herself. Her lips began to turn upwards, and as much as she resisted, she let a little giggle through. Who knew James Potter could be so incoherent? Certainly not Lily. To her, he always seemed to be putting on a show, and this was nothing like she'd ever seen from him before. Even when she was yelling at him, he always had a witty line ready. The James in front of her was truly and utterly foreign to her.

James glanced up at the sound of her laugh, and began to smile a bit himself, although he wasn't quite sure why. For years, he'd tried to make her smile on a daily basis, and now when he'd finally stopped trying so hard, he elicited his first giggle. He shook his head, grinning. "Alright, Evans?"

She giggled a bit more and finally asked him, "Who are you, and what have you done with James Potter?"

He once again opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't seem to find the words. This set Lily off into another giggle, and he began to laugh, as well. "Well, I suppose he finally grew up. Either that or he's still at home on holiday and sent me to do all the hard work. That would be just like him." He smiled tentatively at her, trying to gauge her reaction.

She shook her head, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. "Well, I'm not sure if I believe you just yet, but that was… a brilliant start to the year," her tone sounded a bit begrudging. "I hope everything else goes as smoothly." She also hoped she hadn't just made a massive mistake by complimenting him on his mature, responsible behavior.

He nodded and agreed that he too hoped for a smooth year, and then started to head towards the compartment door. "Well, I'm going to head back to sit with the guys. We're supposed to make sure the younger ones all make it to the boats and carriages, yea?" She nodded in affirmation and he continued, "Right, well I'll see you when we get there, I suppose."

"Ok." She gave him a little smile and watched as he backed out of the room awkwardly before bidding her a final "Cheers, Evans." This was going to be an interesting year, that was for sure.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxX

James was still a bit befuddled as he made his way back to the compartment he'd left his friends in. Lily Evans had never—NEVER!—laughed in his presence before. Neither had she really smiled at him or made idle chit-chat before today. He was truly and utterly at a loss for words.

Finally sliding back the glass doors that separated him from his three best friends, James hesitated over the threshold.

The fight over the chocolate that had just been warming up when he left was over; apparently Sirius had gotten enough of Remus' chocolate to satisfy him, but not enough to put Remus in a bad mood. They'd all joined in a game of exploding snap, and looked up at him expectantly as the doors opened.

James opened his mouth to say hello, but then was caught off guard with a memory of Lily giggling at him, and floundered a bit while the boys watched him curiously. Sirius narrowed his eyes, and brushed a hand through his shaggy black hair, waiting patiently. Remus put down his cards and evaluated James' appearance. Peter kicked back, expecting him to plunge into an entertaining tale of woe.

James continued to stare unfocusedly at the floor.

"Umm… James?"

James snapped his eyes from his internal remembrances back to Sirius' face, and saw that Sirius was beginning to look a bit worried. "Sorry, sorry. Just a little…" He trailed off, his gestures indicating that he couldn't figure out how to finish any of his sentences today.

Sirius shared an incredulous look with the boy sitting across from him, then both turned to look at Peter. Finally, they all shrugged and looked back at James, not quite knowing what was going on. Sirius spoke again: "So, you've seen our wonderful Head Girl, then? Miss Evans must have really been on her game today to have you speechless still. Did she confund you when you weren't looking?" Sirius grinned, Remus groaned, and Peter carefully examined James to determine what the heck was going on.

James shook his head a bit, as if to clear it, and then stepped into the compartment to cuff Sirius on the shoulder. "You know, she might have?" He closed the compartment door and plopped himself down on the floor next to the other three boys.

Remus looked sympathetic, at least. "It went that badly, huh? I was sure she'd give you at least a fighting chance to prove yourself." He frowned, as if he was re-evaluating his red-headed friend. "That just doesn't seem like Lily."

James threw his hands up in the air. "No, no! That's just it: you weren't wrong!" He placed his hands behind him and leaned back, forming his next words carefully. "She was perfectly pleasant, once we got past the part where she threatened to hex me into next century if I messed this year up for her. She was helpful and kind, and… and… she giggled!" His gaze lifted up and the expression on his face transformed into that of a little boy on Christmas morning. "Lily Evans had a normal convers… well, I suppose it wasn't much of a conversation and it was mostly business, but we exchanged some words without her getting mad at me or looking like she was wishing I was on another continent!"

The other boys in the compartment were silent, and Peter was the first to recover from the shock. "Well, James, I think you owe us a highly entertaining story."

James grinned at the smaller blonde boy, and began to recount his tale.

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

Meanwhile, Lily Evans was still evaluating the Prefect meeting and its aftermath. She was still extremely satisfied with the results: while some of the Slytherin prefects had looked positively livid that she and Potter had been chosen as Heads, the other prefects had smiled at her and nodded when she and the Head Boy had explained the expectations for the coming year.

Most everyone, again, had seemed to take their words about house preference seriously, and smiled at the list of passwords they'd received. The patrol schedules would be out tomorrow, but everyone had seemed satisfied with their duties, even the new fifth-year Prefects who were going to be learning the ropes soon.

All in all, not too bad. It seemed her first impression as Head Girl was a success. Now all she had to do was keep up the good work, and cooperate with James Potter.

James Potter, who had so totally surprised her with his earnest desire to learn what was expected of him, and seemed to be an entirely different person than the boy she had known before. He even seemed a bit… Shy? Humble? Lily couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was something very new in his attitude towards her. Most of her was distrustful of this change, regardless of her reaction when she confronted him about it, but part of her hoped he was being genuine. It would make her life so much easier if he were.

She resolved to keep an eye on him, and see whether he lived up to his promise.

A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this out! I got married this past month, and that took a bit out of my schedule. Now I get to write as part of the procrastination for writing thank-you notes. Yay! Please review if you feel so moved!


	3. Confrontation

A/N: Thank you to JKR for giving us this playground to run in. I'm just borrowing it for a while. Sorry for the wait! This has been written for about 6 months, just haven't been able to commit to posting.

Chapter 3: Confrontation

Lily was jolted out of a light doze when the Hogwarts Express stopped and she began to hear compartments open and the booming voice of the gamekeeper saying "Firs' Years! Firs' Years, this way!" She double-checked that her robes were in order and her badge straight, then levitated her trunk out to the hallway, following slightly behind it.

After depositing her trunk in the Gryffindor pile, she headed straight for Hagrid. "Hello, Hagrid! How was your holiday?"

Hagrid beamed down at her and chuckled. "No' as good as yours, it seems! Head Girl Lily Evans, eh? You have a tough job ahead of ya' if you mean t' keep those Gryffindor boys in line!"

Lily shook her head fondly at the half-giant and grimaced. She began to open her mouth, but a voice from behind her stepped in first.

"Ah, but Hagrid, she's never had me to help her before!" Hagrid guffawed, looking over Lily's head to that familiar voice behind her.

"James Potter! An' yer parents mus' be very proud of ya'! Head Boy! Yer gonna be great, I say. With you two on the job, Hogwarts will have t' fall in step!" Hagrid beamed at both of them, and Lily grinned back, before turning to look at James.

"So, round up the first years, Evans? I'll look for the second years to herd them to the carriages, alright?" James shot her a small smile, hoping she'd agree.

Lily thought it over for a second, and nodded her acquiescence. "Sure. See you inside." With that, she smiled at Hagrid, and began to slide through the crowd looking for any stragglers who seemed entirely out of place.

Sure enough, not 30 seconds later, she spied the first year she'd bumped into on the platform. "Claire!" She called out to the girl, who looked a bit lost in the crowd, even with Hagrid's loud cries of "Firs' Years!" resuming.

The younger girl looked up at the sound of her name and seemed extremely relieved to have found a familiar face. Lily made her way to the girl and said, "Here, let me help you. Hagrid will get you all sorted out once all of the first years are with him."

Claire looked slightly apprehensive, glancing towards the towering figure of the gamekeeper. "Is he… is he nice?" she asked timidly. "He's awful big."

Lily grinned at her, then bent over to whisper in her ear. "He's only so big because they needed a body large enough to fit his enormous heart. No need to worry." Lily leaned back to give her a reassuring glance and Claire smiled tentatively back at her, then suddenly they were in front of the towering mountain of a man.

"An' who d'we have here?" Hagrid smiled kindly down on Lily and her charge.

"Hagrid, this is Claire Fraiser. I'll leave her in your capable hands." Lily grinned again at Claire, and nodded once at Hagrid, before walking back towards the train to see if anyone else had been slightly intimidated by Hagrid.

As she walked, she heard Hagrid say "Rubeus Hagrid, groundskeeper here at Hogwarts! It's nice t' meet ya, Claire! I say, you're at the bes' place for magic in the whole world, what with Albus Dumbledore as your Headmaster. Great man, Dumbledore!" Lily gave a small smile at the groundskeeper's predictable rejoinder and continued on her way.

She had finished walking down the trains, and had stopped to look at the boats by the lake when she was startled from her reverie by a snort behind her.

"Head Girl, Lily? I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised, what with Dumbledore's penchant for, shall we say, _different_ students." This stopped her in her tracks as she forced herself to remain composedly silent. Her only acquiescence was the small sigh she heaved.

The commentary continued, undeterred by her unresponsiveness. "You must realize you're drawing unnecessary attention to yourself. There are those who aren't going to take too kindly to a mud—muggleborn being made Head Girl."

Lily closed her eyes, having recognized the voice instantly as that of her ex-best-friend. She sighed, resigned to the conversation. "What do you want, Severus?" She felt a hand touch her shoulder, trying to turn her around.

She finally turned, realizing the only way to get rid of him would be to confront him. She was filled with a sudden and unbridled anger for having this conversation forced upon her. "What?" She scowled at him.

He looked quite taken aback and for a split-second she felt slightly guilty, but then his face twisted and he leaned into her. "Your title won't protect you from the people who want to see you hurt. You've royally brassed off the wrong people, and you'll suffer the consequences if you're not careful." His words and his face didn't match, the sneering visage making his words sound insulting, rather than cautioning.

She was shocked that he seemed to be threatening her outright, and before she could come up with a proper retort, she heard a voice from close to her shoulder berate him. "Leave her alone, Snape. Just because she's too polite to hex you into next Thursday doesn't mean you can threaten the Head Girl with impunity. 10 points from Slytherin and detention Friday, for disrespecting a Head." James Potter stepped forward farther into her sightline, and her anger and shock transformed into consternation.

"Potter-" both she and Severus had spoken at the same time, and suddenly Lily remembered what he had said to her, and her anger sparked back into life. She started again. "Severus, get up to the castle, before you get yourself in more trouble. I'm sure your little friends are wondering where you are."

With that, she abandoned the two boys to head to her own carriage, away from the shadows of the hulking Slytherins, who she had correctly assumed were waiting for Snape farther up the trail. She saw Severus slink off to the other boys out of the corner of her eye and attempted to let go of her anger as she reached for the handle of the carriage door.

As soon as she had climbed in, the door opened again and Potter looked timidly from the doorway, as if expecting a hex. "Is it okay if I ride up with you? All the other carriages are gone."

She sighed and nodded, gesturing to the seat across from her, but remaining silent.

James gingerly sat across from her and after a couple seconds, began to speak. "Look, Evans, I know you can take care of yourself. I'm sorry I stepped in where I probably wasn't needed or wanted, but I just couldn't let him speak to you that way. You have enough trouble on your hands just trying to get me up to speed with this Head business to deal with threats from Slytherins on your first night back." He sped through his apology, rambling on as quickly as he could, in order to forestall any interruptions. "I'm not giving back the points or taking back the detention, I think they were appropriate for the amount of disrespect he showed you, but I'll try to let you handle things in the future, okay?"

He finally looked up from his hands, which he had been staring at all since beginning his apology, to gaze into her eyes, shadowed by moonlight. She looked withdrawn, determining what to think, how to respond.

She settled on a neutral expression. "Potter, I think this might be the first time I've ever said this to you, but apology accepted. And…" She hesitated slightly, casting about for another way—any other way—to say what was on the tip of her tongue. "Thank you."

He gave her a small smile, hiding the somersaults his heart and stomach were turning. "You're welcome."

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

When they arrived at the castle, James handed her down from the carriage and bid her goodbye, off to look for his friends, she supposed. She still wasn't quite sure what to make of the boy she was going to be working with this year. They'd spent the rest of the carriage-ride in silence, and as they rode, she contemplated his actions and Severus' words.

She hated to admit it, but Severus had really upset her. She hadn't been expecting a warm welcome—even when they were still "friends" he didn't do warm welcomes, tending towards ignoring her in public—but she certainly hadn't expected a threat, or a warning, or whatever it was he had been trying to do. One thing Lily was certain of: she would have to look after herself more carefully this year.

And James Potter continued to astonish her. She had initially been furious that he had intervened where he was unwanted, but his levelheaded response and decisive end to the unpleasant conversation was so relieving that she couldn't hold her anger. When he had apologized to her, she once again wondered who this boy was, and what he'd done with James Potter. Wonders never ceased, apparently.

Finally reaching the Great Hall, she scanned the Gryffindor table for Alice and Marlene. They saw her searching for them, and waved excitedly from the far end of the table. She felt her spirits lift as she took in the sight of her best friends waiting for her.

Lily wandered over and plopped herself down in between the two girls, dropping an arm around both of them, and squeezing gently. "Girls, I have missed you more than I thought possible." Alice and Marlene quickly threw their arms about her, hugging her tightly and bouncing a little in their excitement.

Alice pulled back first and exclaimed "Head Girl! I knew it before, but now, with the badge," she gestured to Lily's robes, "it seems more real!"

Before she could respond, Marlene leaned her right elbow on the table and asked rapid-fire, "So who's the Head Boy? Marcus Gregory? Andrew Corbin? Remus Lupin?" She peered around the table to where Remus was sitting, chuckling with his friends over something, then over to the other tables, searching for Marcus or Andrew. "Hmmmmm?" She was so excited that Lily couldn't help but laugh at her antics.

She took a breath and rolled her eyes. "You wouldn't believe it!" Marlene looked puzzled at that, and scanned the Slytherin table.

"It's not Snape, is it? I don't know what Dumbledore is thinking putting him in as Head!" Marlene looked worried and exchanged glances with Alice, who shrugged her shoulders and gestured to Marlene.

"Lily? She's not right, is she? I mean, about Snape being Head Boy?" She was hesitant to broach the subject of Lily's former friend. Severus Snape was no one's favorite topic of conversation, and had been even less so since the end of fifth year.

Lily shuddered, realizing she had never even thought about that possibility. Her assumption had always been that Remus or Andrew would be Head Boy. Remus, as he was brilliant in his studies and a friendly acquaintance to most of the school, and Andrew, the Ravenclaw Prefect, who was a bit more serious than Remus, but would have made an excellent Head.

She laughed a bit, realizing James Potter might not be the best choice, but he was far from the worst. "Nope… James Potter."

Alice and Marlene looked at each other for a beat, and back at Lily, then dissolved into a laughing fit. "Hooo! Lily, you really didn't have to do that. I don't need a broken rib from laughing so hard! Hehehe!" Marlene almost fell off of the bench, pounding her fist on the table in mirth.

Alice's laughter trailed off when she realized that Lily wasn't laughing, although there was a small smile on her face from watching her friends. She reached out to her right and poked Marlene from around Lily's back, and gestured back at Lily. Alice peered closer at Lily's face and then sat back, disbelief across her face. "He is, isn't he?" she asked, as if she didn't want to hear the answer.

"Oh, Lily! I'm so sorry!" Marlene commiserated with her best friend. "Maybe Dumbledore made a mistake?" She looked hopeful.

Lily just smiled a bit more and shook her head. "No, no mistake. And, while I can't believe I'm actually going to say this, he actually might do a good job." Silence greeted this pronouncement, and Lily glanced at her friends to see that they were staring at her like she'd grown an extra 2 heads.

"No, really! He was very attentive when we went over things for the Prefect's meeting, helped the first and second years find their way and he hasn't been a prat yet at all." She intentionally didn't mention her run-in with Snape and continued on. "If he keeps it up, this will be a fantastic school year. Didn't even ask me out at all. And strangely enough, kept having a hard time forming his sentences."

Alice and Marlene still looked a bit skeptical, but less like they thought their friend needed to see a healer. "You're sure?" Alice asked, making sure Lily wasn't just bluffing for their sake. The Head Girl had a habit of understating things to make them seem less serious than they were to prevent her friends from worrying about her (in her mind) unnecessarily.

Lily nodded. "Yes. I'm going to keep an eye on him, but he seems to really want to do this right." She saw McGonagall enter with the first years trailing behind her and shushed her friends. They shook their heads in disbelief, but turned to watch the Sorting ceremony (Fraiser, Claire was sorted into Gryffindor, to Lily's delight) and listened to Dumbledore's welcoming speech ("Fizzle! Mermish! Snidget! Hollow!") before loading their plates with food.


End file.
